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Underground > Radio & Music >

Found CD wallet with terrible music in.

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The Natural Way

12:34 / 30.07.03

Yeah, you know, the "World-O-Twattery" where most people live. The world where you can take the piss and bitch and moan and talk shit the way most of us do. And stick yr tongue out at Phil Collins and David Gray. I'll be sure to remind the next person I catch daring to giggle at someone else's taste that they're dangerously close to entering this exciting, but very evil world.

The Return Of Rothkoid

12:36 / 30.07.03

No, actually I think the point is that this is Barbelith, the Land of Equal Opportunity And Rights For All where if you were to suggest that intolerant behaviour of any type is acceptable, you'd be shouted down. Except where music is concerned, because dick-size competitions seem to be a-OK here. And of course, everyone else knows better.

Fuck's sake. You'd think your shit doesn't stink.

Matthew Fluxington

12:56 / 30.07.03

Videodrome, Bear and Rothkoid are on the money. Get some empathy, kids.

Even in terms of lousy records, those cds in the wallet aren't all that bad. Calling that stuff terrible seems to be a vast exaggeration. Mediore and bland, maybe, but definitely not awful.

There seems to be a lack of selfawareness in some of these posts - has it occurred to you that if you lost your little wallet of cds somewhere, your taste couldn't be mocked by someone with 'better' taste? I assure you that it would. I promise you, actually.

13:16 / 30.07.03

mediocre & bland is so much worse than awful.

At least awful provokes a reaction.

Regrettable Juvenilia

13:20 / 30.07.03

Flux: well, hence my original idea really. I'm sure if the entire contents of the wallet was posted, there would be enough people here willing to stick up for half of the records, and I think that would be quite a spirited discussion...

Riz: except bland has presumably produced quite a reaction here, hasn't it?

I dunno. I take Runce's point, and I agree with him that Bear and Ganesh make the opposing point best... This reminds me of the 'which musician would you beat up?' thread in that it can seem twattish either to seriously want to beat up a musician or to object seriously to a jokey thread about doing so, y'know? I'm staying out of this one.

Although I bet I could compile a wallet-full of music to make Flux laugh. Full of Sigur Ros and Bright Eyes, oh my...

The Natural Way

14:46 / 30.07.03

But I DO empathise, Flux! See my Barratt Home post above.

Actually, I accept the point that Barbe-behaviour should and does differ from how we'd all go on IRL. Occured to me shortly before Rothkoid's last post. Which is fair enough. But I get the feeling you were talking in general, as opposed to specific, terms, Rothkoid.

I do worry that shouting down this sort of thing robs threads of a fun, fighty, conversational aspect, but if the people are against me then, hey-ho, I'll attempt to reign it in.

But you just know I won't be able to. I can only talk about the social implications of gunrap for so long before I want to scream KOSHEEN ARE SHIT (but not my shit, 'cause my shit's just great)!!

The Natural Way

14:53 / 30.07.03

Actually, i just want to add rabid inconsistency/hypocrisy to my list of twatevil.

I quite like Gracelands.

No star here laces

15:23 / 30.07.03

I bought graceland when it came out. As a present for my mum.

Did we figure out who had the biggest musical dick yet? Mine plays David Morales' "needing you" in a tinny fashion, a bit like a clock radio. I like it but others find it irritating, especially in a public place.

My suggestion is that you email back the cds along with a printout of this thread. And a compilation album in which everyone on the thread selects a tune. And everyone else slags it off. That'll teach the bastard that all taste is relative and apparently intelligent people can argue about anything if they're in a bad enough mood (or annoyed at their relatively undersized musical cock).

15:27 / 30.07.03

Weird - a friend of mine gave me a David Gray EP a while back. I'd never heard of him, and I don't think he's known over here, but am so out of touch with Top 40 he may well be huge. Anyway, I've never actually listened to the thing. Maybe I will now.

I'd definitely make a mix CD with stuff that starts out with stuff you think you like and the person would like, then gradually shading into stuff you like that you think the person would never listen to. Like maybe moving from India Arie to Throbbing Gristle in seven or eight songs.

Actually, now that I think of it, you could easily bridge India Arie to Throbbing Gristle via Diamanda Galas' wordless lament on the Divine Punishment album (midway through side one, called something like "Yiati Me, O Theos"). Disturbing, yet beautiful. Matches both styles. I put that piece on mixtapes all the time.

15:52 / 30.07.03

The piss-taking argument crops up enough that I reckon we should compile some sort of guide. Something simple and direct, the sort of thing you might find in a leaflet in an NHS waiting room. How about this:

1) Taking the piss out of friends, family and colleagues:- fine; compulsory, even (up to a point)

2a) Taking the piss out of strangers you know nothing about to their face (or indirectly 'at them'):- bad

2b) Taking the piss out of strangers you know nothing about in such a way that they will never know about it: fair to dodgy (depending upon whether or not the piss-taking encourages negative opinions of harmless individuals or groups which may affect them at a later date)

2c) Taking the piss out of strangers who you know for a fact to be positively evil*, to their face or not:- fine; compulsory, even (limits to be determined by degree of evilness)

Yeah? Fair enough? Some sort of 3-dimensional venn diagram might be useful, to take account of variations in 'depth' and length of piss-taking. Using the above, I reckon that taking the piss out of David Gray fans in this thread comes under category 2b if no one here happens to be a David Gray fan, but 2a if they are (unless they also happen to be evil, in which case that makes it 2c). Tricky, eh?

*as defined by the leaflet "What is Evil?"

Matthew Fluxington

16:35 / 30.07.03

Flyboy, somehow I get the feeling that the owner of the cd wallet full of Bright Eyes, Sigur Ros, and Godspeed cds would be the first to make fun of someone else's taste. They'd probably agree with Riz's "mediocre = AWFUL!" point of view.

Call me crazy, but awful = awful, and mediocre is just middling and easy to tune out.

22:52 / 30.07.03

FORGIVE MY TERIBLE COMMAND OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND RAMBLING DEMENEUEUEUEUR. i AM DRUNKED A BIT.

I've been having problems with my connection for the last 24 hrs. This morning I wanted to make some sarcastic comment about how serious people on Barbelith can be but I couldn't. Now I'm a little drunken and the thread has developed into a real corker. We've had both wit and wisdom and I am so down with Jefe de Jefelaces' idea of printing out this thread and sending it back with the CD wallet to it's owner.

When I recieve a returned package I inevitably wonder about the person who returned it; how kind they obviously are and how did they judge me? (I have had address books returned with personal scribblings in the back, similarly (and more intensely) with sketch books.}

How nice it would be to know. O' to give the owner a copy of this thread! What a gift to give to the recipient of this "case logic" CD retention device!

I will do this.

Everyone now has the chance to communicate with this individual directly. What have you got to say to him?

22:56 / 30.07.03

I'll do a full contents of "case logic" listing tomorrow. If I get the time.

'night

23:31 / 30.07.03

If I recieved this thread back with anything of mine, I'd likely think 'what a bunch of self-important tossers'.

00:57 / 31.07.03

somehow I get the feeling that the owner of the cd wallet full of Bright Eyes, Sigur Ros, and Godspeed cds would be the first to make fun of someone else's taste

So you have no problem with undermining yourself with this kind of observation? It's great to live and let live, just not when it's something you want to be snobbish about. You fucking prick.

No star here laces

08:13 / 31.07.03

I love this thread.

Mr David Gray cd-owner man: may your days be long and filled with sunshine, and your nights long and filled with loving, you handsome devil, you.

uncle retrospective

08:59 / 31.07.03

Well how about we get everyone to suggest tracks for a CD that this person might like? Crazy idea I know, but if we think this person needs to be pushed in a direction (like the Nazi's we are) why not?
The owner likes downbeat guitar music surely we can think of some stuff they might not have heard of and burn it.

Share the love not the hate.

The Natural Way

09:41 / 31.07.03

Hey, CD guy! I reckon, and I'm sure I'm on the money about this, that you'd love Nick Drake. Really, really nice downbeat/folksy acoustic guitar stuff and just brimming with REALSOUL(tm).

The frusspigs and I totally dig on his Bryter Layter album, but Fuckpig: OOOOOUUURGHUUURGH! prefers Five Leaves Left. Both are good. Go get 'em! I believe you are a huge Nick Drake fan, even if you don't know it yet!

I'm sorry if I have caused you any offense - you, too, are a child of the universe no less than the trees and the stars and all that, and are as deserving of respect as any of its children.

Marriage!

- Skilliant Pig

Regrettable Juvenilia

11:45 / 31.07.03

Ah, marriage. Yes. Marriage.

I would recommend to Miss David Gray Lover (Lover) an album by Cat Power - either Moon Pix or The Covers Record would be great, but perhaps you should start with her most recent offering You Are Free. She mostly does fragile, downbeat acoustic guitar music with a smattering of country and folk. And she has an amazing voice.

Hands together, all around the world. Marriage.

12:17 / 31.07.03

Fraely, if you change your mind and don't include a print-out of this thread then I suggest you put a name and return address on the package - you never know, there might be a handsome reward for your efforts. I know I'd want to find some way of saying thanks to someone who'd gone to the trouble and expense of sending it all the way from Britain.

If, however, you do include the print-out, I recommend you post it from somewhere as far away from wherever you live as possible and go around in disguise for a couple of months. You never know, the guy might be a powerful psychopath with an international network of heavies at his command, or a simple nutter who just wont give up. Either way, you don't want to be getting horses' heads through the letterbox.

No star here laces

12:18 / 31.07.03

Also, you must go buy Live at the old quarter by Townes van Zandt, especially if you ever feel the need to wallow in self-pity.

The Natural Way

12:25 / 31.07.03

How many suggestions till we reach cut-off, Fraely?

Vere good and appropriate so far, I think.

Regrettable Juvenilia

12:38 / 31.07.03

Oh - I also recommend Electric Version by The New Pornographers. To everyone. Especially if your CD wallet is full of Sigur Ros and Beards Of Canda albums.

The Natural Way

13:41 / 31.07.03

And, of course, there's every possibility you'll dig on Belle and Sebastian.

See! We love you!

Tryphena Absent

13:50 / 31.07.03

And I just want to say hello! Don't listen to them, stick with David Gray-he's cute like a little puppy dog and he moves his head in an amusing way. Actually Gemma Hayes would suit you.

The Natural Way

13:51 / 31.07.03

Esp that "You will have a boy tonight, on the last bus out of town.." number (whatever it's called.... anyone?). That'll make you rise above the pain like nothing before or since.

And, yes, stretching it a bit, I think you may well enjoy Boards of Canada. Nice, pastoral electronic stuff.

The Natural Way

13:53 / 31.07.03

Now you've confused things, Anna. "the boy tonight" thing's Belle and Sebastian, not Gemma Hayes.

You'd better send this, Fraely.

14:01 / 31.07.03

I've had the "you shouldn't criticise stuff all the time!" / "yes I should!" argument a million times with my brother in relation to just about every artistic medium imaginable, and what my defense comes down to is this:

I'm not trying to impose my own tastes on anyone else or suggesting that my tastes are objectively 'better' than anyone elses - I'm just stating my opinion and setting out my problems with whatever cultural artifact is under discussion, and perhaps challenging people to provide counter-arguments and prove me wrong..

Conversations about music or books or films get pretty fucking dull if everyone's too polite to object to stuff that offends/infuriates them.

Old brown-eye is back

14:49 / 31.07.03

Riz, this thread was never intended for the debate of anything constructive. It's been about a bunch of geek boys wanting to feel superior to a stranger because of the contents of his or her record collection. Christ knows why you'd bother with that, but there it is.

Now then, we may or may not all feel the same about David Gray - we probably do. It's just the assumption that we do that really fucked me off.

And Pig, you're thinking of Lazy Line Painter Jane.

The Natural Way

15:24 / 31.07.03

Well, at least two of the people mulling the thing over at Fraely's are women, but anyway...

I think yr stretching it, if you think anyone got a serious ego-boost out of knocking the David Gray selection. And another thing, I don't think taking the piss out of someone's taste = insecure geekboy. If that's the case, I must know a shit load of insecure people all. my. life.

Would've been a really good come-back when my old Nanny, Sandy, ribbed me about my dance music collection in my very early teens:

"You soft, southern shite - it's all bleeps and whirring!"

"Shut up, yr just insecure and need to feel superior!"

"?!"

Everyone laughs at the piping child.

15:48 / 31.07.03

So what have you decided to do? I say return the wallet but replace all the music with "better" or at least different stuff. You may change someone elses life.

17:05 / 31.07.03

I say if you're going to take some kind of action, add a mix CD of recommended songs ("I saw you like X ... maybe you'll like Y!") but don't touch the original CDs.

If folks found my CD collection and replaced my CDs with ones they thought were better, I'd go ballistic. You might think that my taste in music is absolute crap, but woooo. That's why they're my CDs and not yours. I'll take recommendations any day, but if someone _discarded_ any of my CDs just because that person didn't happen to like Stevie Wonder, Average White Band, Squirrel Nut Zippers, or The Upper Crust, I'd give that pretentious ass a hiding. If I want a musical purge and reeducation, I'll ask kindly for it.

And one of those Stevie Wonder CDs is a treasured birthday gift. Extra hidings if that were thrown away.

:: takes deep breath, returns to stroking CDs :: It's okay, Stevie honey, I'll take care of you.

The Natural Way

18:03 / 31.07.03

Impulsive, stop being so impulsive and read the thread. Fraely's said what he's going to do, now make with the suggestions.......

Boboss could prolly come up with a few downbeat gooduns. Get on the thread, brotherkrunt!

21:01 / 31.07.03

If you like David Gray, Daniel Belanger's Rever Mieux is a french-language David Gray that sounds like it's been produced by Air. I like it, anyhow.

You also probably need some Arab Strap to see where the guys+guitar thing can go, really, and then probably (if you like Sigur Ros who I think are perfectly fine thank you) the Lucky Pierre album Hypnogogia.

Yes, definitely Gemma Hayes. She's wonderful, and so's her music. And then, to top it all off:

XO by Elliott Smith. Yes, I think that's quite a nice couple of suggestions.

Old brown-eye is back

21:50 / 31.07.03

I don't think I ever mentioned anyone feeling insecure about anything Skilliant - quite the opposite in fact. This is one - and get this now - self satisfied thread. What's happened to make you become like your gran?

CatJerome - you the man/woman

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